games

Gary, Lori, and I each organized one of the game days, and one of us served as an assistant while the other took on the nursery.  Although she may deny it, I think that Lori may have missed her calling as a PE teacher (check out that perfect form in the picture...she's just missing a whistle!)  Two teen boys helped us each day, which was very needed.  Gary mastered balloon bending techniques so that he could produce fancy crowns and animals within moments on our carnival day. 

crafts with Miss Kris

This is a perfect example of not being able to be in the right place at the right time.  Kris had all these cool crafts going on, but I was either in the nursery, at games, or getting the snacks ready.  So, I only have a few pics, and none of them do a very good job of capturing the essence.  I hope Kris or someone else has better ones, or perhaps shots of the finished products. 

WOW

Kevin led the WOW zone under the guest house so that he had a relatively cool spot with a certain amount of privacy, where noise from other groups or activity from other groups would not be a distraction. 

 

nursery

 

Gary, Lori, and I each took a day in the nursery, and there were three teenagers in there all three days.  Oddly enough, I could not locate a picture of Shiloh working in here, but she was there.  I admired these teens so much, because these kids needed the most hands-on work and were the most varied of any age group.  They ranged from not sitting up yet to almost four, which covers quite a bit of abilities, interests, and emotional situations.  Some of the children were not used to being away from their parents at all, since they live in the bush.  I especially admired the teen boy pictured above, who volunteered for the nursery because he suspected his younger sister would have a difficult time being apart from her "mum" (they are English), and he wanted to be there for her.  Even with her brother with her, his sister did indeed express her displeasure at being away from her parents.  He held her and tried plenty of distraction techniques until she was able to settle down (until she suddenly remembered she was unhappy).  He never expressed any frustration with her at all, just understanding that she had never been away from her parents and was upset.  His patience and empathy was beyond his years.

VBS begins!

 

We planned a three day VBS to go alongside the adults' conference schedule.  Kevin and Kris were in charge of the beginning and closing sessions, and they did a fabulous job creating energy and making sure the kids remained excited about VBS while maintaining control and helping them learn. 

 

After the beginning session each morning, the kids had three stations: WOW zone (lesson area), craft cove (crafts), and Midway games (games). We had plenty of help from teens to make the stations a success as well as make sure the younger ones were happy and settled in the nursery.

 

Malalo

This was my favorite day at Madang, and it will be easy to see why when you get to the pictures.  Every year, everyone at the conference spends the first full day at Malalo, a hotel close to the conference center.  Why?  To have some relaxed time together and for friends to catch up with one another in a beautiful spot with no other responsibilities.  I am sure that this day is healing for some, as their lives in the bush take a lot of effort and some are without co-workers right now.

Swimmers could choose between the pool or the ocean.  The beach was beautiful dark sand, with interesting driftwood around, and we could spot a volcano in the distance.

Check out the transportation to get there; everyone just piles in the back of the truck. 

 

the first few days in Madang

 

 One of the many markets we visited.  We arrived in Madang on Monday, and spent most of our time in one market or another: souvenir shopping, grocery shopping, just about any kind of shopping you can think of.  It was a leisurely sort of trip; there is no sense in rushing since no one else does. 

 

 The sunrise from our house, vantage point: glorious hammock on the back porch.

Joseph, who was one of our hosts during the week, makes a produce delivery to the kitchen.  There were two amazing women who hosted the kitchen, with different families assigned to do most of the actual prep for specific lunches and dinners.  We were responsible for our own breakfasts, which Joey promptly took on (more on that later!)

 Kris and Lori, who dedicated their entire afternoon to roll pretzels for the VBS snacks.  Since our VBS had an amusement park theme, we tried to incorporate that theme into all aspects of the week, including snacks. 

 

 

 Dennis preps for his sessions (or emails home, not sure which).  At first, we planned to have the entire team in the guest house, which would have been cozy but certainly fine.  However, Geoff and Shannon unexpectedly had room in house they were staying in, so Kris and Gary got to have extra family time by moving into their house instead.  That made for only six people in our three bedroom house, which worked out well.